Exam 18: Managing Work Groups and Teams

When an organization assigns you to a group for a specific length of time to accomplish a specific goal, you are a member of a(n) ____ group.

When Trideep Anand persisted in producing more units than the group work norm prescribed, his lunch bucket began to disappear every day and then magically reappear about quitting time. This behavior by the members of his group was an attempt to force norm ____________________.

Discuss the following statement: "Role structures emerge as a result of role episodes." You may want to use a diagram to clarify your answer.

Kathleen is responsible for the logistics for an upcoming meeting of the Board of Directors. She has four people to support her. Her concern is that she does not like to deal with conflict, and she is sure that some will arise. What techniques can she use to prevent or resolve conflict and build cohesiveness?

Describe a situation in your life when conflict had a positive outcome.

3M uses cross-functional teams to solve problems. One group was asked to figure out ways that 3M could sell more Bow Magic Pull Bow, a relatively new venture for the company. When the group reached the ____ stage of group development, the group had become a mechanism for accomplishing its purpose. It directed its energies toward goal attainment and developed the Home Shopping Network.

Special Exercises An Executive Masters in Business Administration class has the responsibility to design, produce, and evaluate marketing campaigns. There are six groups, each with five students. Group A has an IT manager who grew up in India and now works for Gartner, a PR president from Siemens who served in the German Army, a logistics director from Iron Mountain who retired from the U.S. Navy, an operations director for Cintas, and a management consultant from Right Management Consultants. Use this information and what you have learned in the chapter on managing work groups and teams to mark whether the following statements are True or False. From the information provided, you can tell that this group will never be highly cohesive and will at best perform moderately well.

Consultants from three different branch offices interact via e-mail on a project. They each provide their expertise and then the group changes. They are part of a(n)

You are picked to join a problem-solving team that is trying to improve customer service. Describe stages your team will go through.

Resistance over implementing work teams is most likely to come from

Honda Motor Company's plant outside Columbus, Ohio, manufactures cars as small as the Civic and as large as the Element, all on the same assembly line. This flexible manufacturing development allows automakers to rapidly change to consumers' desires. It should also decrease ____ between marketing and production.

The role that an individual determines by reading cues and messages from those who have expectations of him or her is the ____ role.

Which of the following combinations of group performance norms and cohesiveness is BEST from the manager's point of view?

Which of the following is NOT an example of a task group?

Departments such as personnel, finance, and public relations are all examples of ____ groups.

High performance results from

One may assume that after a functional group accomplishes its current objectives, it will

Most interpersonal relationships in organizations have no conflict.

Which of the following is the final stage of group development?

Organizations form ____ groups.